In beta, episode 10: Do bots have rights?

In California, a landmark piece of legislation has recently passed which attempts to regulate the usage of bots in certain contexts. The original version of the bill was broader, and attracted significant opposition from human rights defenders – who argued that it posed a risk to freedom of expression.

To find out more about this story – and the questions it raises – we spoke to Jeremy Gillula of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and lawyer, author and Slate columnist John Frank Weaver. This episode – the first in the second season of GPD’s In beta podcast – is also the first in a three-part focus on identity in the digital age.